HER POV

I flatten out the wrinkles on my shirt as we near the designated address. My white heels click along the pavement.

"Who is going to be here?" I ask.

Brian purses his lips in a thinking manner.

"Aside from Luca and Anthony, most probably Eloise," Brian replies and I contain my frown upon hearing the name.

Eloise has maintained her distance ever since I moved in with Brian and refrained from making any remarks, but I could always feel her cold, distasteful glare on me.

Brian stops as we reach Dudley' store. A large banner is hanging one of the store, the same image from the business cards displaying on it.

I follow Brian inside and find a lot of people already looking through the different clothing items while others are enjoying the music and drinking champagne.

"Sam! Brian!" Dudley walks over to us with a happy smile. "I am so glad you could make it."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Brian replies as he greets Dudley with a handshake.

"There is a lot of people here," I note as I look around.

"Some are family members, others are potential life-long customers," Dudley explains. "Which reminds me. Luca told me who was not able to make it, but he left me this note for you."

Dudley pulls out a folded piece of paper from his blazer's interior pocket and hands it to me. I look down at it and smile.

"That man is so busy he didn't even bother to say goodbye in person," he jokes.

"He's always been like that," I chuckle.

"Here are my favorite people," Anthony cheers as he walks over to us with a bottle of wine in hand. "This is a gift to the entrepreneur."

"Thank you," Dudley takes the bottle as Anthony joins us.

"Brian, you need to keep an eye on your girl," Anthony jokes. "You are the sensation here, Sam. Well, aside from Dudley's grand opening."

Dudley nods in agreement.

"You're beauty has attracted even more customers than anticipated," Dudley adds.

"There's the famous Samantha," I turn to the familiar voice and smile when I see Derek walking toward us.

"What are you doing here?" I ask surprised.

"Supporting my friend, duh," he replies as he gives me a hug. "I didn't know you were such a model."

He points at the banner near the cash register where I am sporting another outfit.

"Oh, that's nothing," I reply humbly.

"Nothing?" Anthony exasperates, shocked by answer. "There are some well known agents here and I heard them talking about hiring you."

"Really?" I ask, skeptical of Anthony is serious or just trying to prove a point.

"Yep," Anthony nods. "Which reminds me, there is someone who wants to talk with you."

"Me?" Brian asks when Anthony turns to face Brian.

"They are from some super famous agency or something," Anthony explains. "They're looking for new photographers and they admired your work with the banners."

"Oh yeah, they spoke to me earlier too," Dudley chimes in. "Getting signed with them will boost your career man."

"Really?" Brian's excitement is visible in his shimmering brown eyes and I smile proudly at him.

"Come, I'll introduce you to them," Dudley relies as he urges Brian to follow him.

"Don't worry Sam, we'll bring him back shortly," Anthony assures.

I smile as Anthony and Dudley take Brian away. I finally look down at the note Dudley gave me and decide to open it.

"What is that?" Derek raises an eyebrow.

"A good friend left it for me," I reply as I unfold the paper.

I feel all the blood leave my body at once and replaced with a cold, icy sensation. My breathing becomes heavier and heavier. My eyes look over the writing over and over, hoping that I was just imagining it.

In black ink there was only one word written, Run.

MYSTERY POV

       I look at the store and then back down at the business card in my hands. I twirl the rectangular card in between my fingers. Posing on the right side is the beautiful brunette.

       "Oh Sammy, you're in big trouble."

Author's Note
Dun...dun...duuuuuunnn. As you can already tell, this book is coming close to its end. There will be so much drama in the next couple of chapters so buckle up! Who do you guys think is the Mystery POV? Let me know your predictions in the comments. I wanted to end this week with a little cliffhanger, but to make up for it next Monday I will be doing a double-update. Thank you so much for reading my lovelies.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay awesome.
Xoxo, Liz 💋💋💋

vv Samantha's Outfit vv